Conventionally, in vehicles intended for conveyance of passengers, especially aircraft of commercial airlines, it is of special importance that the seat systems are designed using the available cabin space in the best possible manner, with a maximum of functionality and comfort for the seat occupant. To meet these requirements, currently conventional systems have a plurality of integrated, attached auxiliary devices or those mounted on the adjacent seat system, specifically on the back of the seat system which follows next in the direction of travel or against the direction of travel. DE 195 41 567 C1, for example, discloses an aircraft passenger seat which, oriented laterally especially to an adjacent seat, is bordered by a console forming an arm rest. A partition can be pulled out from the console in the manner of a fan and can be fastened in the position of use, creating for the seat occupant a personal space relative to the adjacent areas.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,360 discloses equipping the center arm console of an aircraft passenger seat with a monitor instead of a partition. The monitor can be swiveled out of its storage position in the center console into the position of use by a support arm. The swiveling support arm can be fastened in definable catch positions. In addition to the first swivel direction of its free end, the support arm enables another, second swiveling direction for the monitor. A comparable monitor swiveling unit is disclosed in EP 0 368 609 A2, where a monitor connected to the free end of the support arm can be swiveled out of the position of non-use located in the distance between two backrests of aircraft passenger seats. The backrests are arranged next to one another in a row. The monitor can be swiveled forward into a position of use permitting two seat occupants sitting next to one another to look at the monitor.
In the seat systems described, a complex design is necessary to house the partition and the monitor swiveling mechanism appropriately. This complexity adversely affects optimum use of the available cabin space.
Accordingly, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0064623 A1 discloses an aircraft passenger seat providing an arm-like operating part in a swan neck design in the area near the head of the seat occupant and located above or laterally on the backrest. The arm has an operating part on its free end, in the form of a lighting mechanism or in the form of a connection possibility for a computer unit, especially a personal computer. The solution is advantageous in that the respective seat occupant is able to manually bend the swan neck into shapes such that the operating part in terms of its position satisfies the occupant's ergonomic requirements. However, a multifunction solution cannot be obtained in this way. Depending on the position of the swan neck, the solution may be perceived by the seat neighbor as disturbing. This design, in the area of the top of the backrest, also requires a large amount of installation space and in a practical embodiment is hardly pleasing from an aesthetic point of view.